essential oil

noun

: any of a class of volatile oils that give plants their characteristic odors and are used especially in perfumes and flavorings, and for aromatherapy compare fixed oil

Examples of essential oil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That might mean plopping down on the bed, taking a whiff of a favorite essential oil, or hugging a pillow for a few minutes. —Angela Haupt, TIME, 11 Feb. 2025

Each one has a small toy inside and is fragranced with essential oils. —Bestreviews, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2025

They’re infused with natural essential oils and made of natural soy wax. —Bestreviews, The Mercury News, 4 Feb. 2025

As long as there is no allergic or adverse reaction to the essential oils, which should always be diluted with carrier oils like coconut, jojoba or sweet almond oil, there is no harm in trying them. —Eva Crouse, Flow Space, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1674, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for essential oil

• aerofoil
• cinquefoil
• hydrofoil
• quatrefoil
• airfoil
• benzoyl
• despoil
• embroil
• etoile
• gargoyle
• recoil
• subsoil

Medical Definition

essential oil

noun

: any of a large class of volatile odoriferous oils of vegetable origin that give plants their characteristic odors and often other properties, that are obtained from various parts of the plants (as flowers, leaves, or bark) by steam distillation, expression, or extraction, that are usually mixtures of compounds (as aldehydes or esters), and that are used often in the form of essences in perfumes, flavorings, and pharmaceutical preparations

called also ethereal oil, volatile oil

compare fatty oil, fixed oil